


Held Over For Three Weeks At The Palace

by stargatefan_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-31
Updated: 2013-12-31
Packaged: 2018-10-06 12:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10334300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stargatefan_archivist/pseuds/stargatefan_archivist
Summary: SPOILERS: The LightEpilogue for The Light. A little of this, a little of that in a Palace by the Sea





	

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Yuma, the archivist: this work was originally archived at [Stargatefan.com](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Stargatefan.com). To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [StargateFan Archive Collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/StargateFan_Archive_Collection).

Held Over For Three Weeks at the Palace

The Stargate wormhole disengaged, flickering out like a lightbulb. Jack O’Neill, watching with his arm around Loren’s shoulder, turned to what was left of his team.

"Okay kids, first rule of survival: check what we have and decide what we need. Luckily, this time, we have a supply line." He turned to Loren and said, "Loren, does this place have bedrooms? bathrooms? banquet facilities?"

Loren looked confused, "Uh, there's lots of rooms. Most of them are just like this one: big and empty."

"Well, apparently the Goa’uld took all the good stuff when they left. Guess we’ll have to rough it. Okay, let’s make a list, people." 

***

Daniel Jackson was sitting Indian-style with his nose almost touching the wall.

Jack O’Neill approached from behind and stood for a moment watching his friend work. He cleared his throat. "Daniel?" 

Daniel did not change his position, "Jack?"

"Whatcha doin’?"

"I’m translating these symbols. Loren gave me a starting place."

"It’s really late, Daniel. Dontcha think you should stop and get some rest?"

"Dontcha think I’ve had enough rest for one day?" Daniel continued scribbling in his notebook without looking up.

"Being in a coma isn’t resting."

"Well, I’m not tired, Jack. I’ll stop when I get tired."

"Aren’t you hungry?"

"No, not really." Daniel began making a rubbing of a raised glyph.

"Oky-dokey. Just checkin'." When Daniel was this immersed in his work, nothing could distract him. "The general sent us some nice cots and blankets. We’re all set up in the gate room."

"Okay, I’ll be along in awhile."

Jack stood and watched Daniel for a minute, then turned and walked away. They had come close to losing Daniel earlier. _Too damn close, and Daniel seemed totally oblivious. Maybe it's best he doesn't remember_.

***

Jack returned to the gate room where Sam was unpacking the supplies that had been sent through the gate. Loren sat on the steps near the gate, watching. Sam looked up from the stack of MRE’s she was piling in the corner. "Where’s Daniel, sir?" 

"He’s found a nice wall to play with. Doesn’t look like he’s gonna be doing any socializing for awhile." Jack looked around at the piles of plastic bins filled with supplies. "Boy, the general really outdid himself."

"Yeah, we're set for the full three weeks it looks like. He even sent a chess set and some cards," Sam held up the box of games.

"Did he send any decent food?"

"Just MRE's for now, but he said something special would be coming through later."

"Sweet," Jack said distractedly. "I wonder what Teal'c's gonna do without us?"

"Uh, the general said he really couldn't spare him right now. SG-11 is short two men, but he’ll come visit when he can."

"I hope he does. I like Teal'c," Loren chirped in his funny little shy smile on his face.

"Well, who doesn't?" Jack did a double take; having completely forgotten the kid was in the room. "Okay, first order of business: get this stuff stowed. Then we hit the sack. Tomorrow we go exploring. How's that sound?" Getting no verbal responses, he answered himself, "Sounds good to me."

***

Loren appreciatively shared their dinner of cold MRE's . Sam ventured to ask him what he had been eating all these years.

"Plants mostly. The woods around here are full of stuff. Sometimes I'd go catch fish. I have a real neat fishing pole. Wanna see it?"

"Maybe later. Have you ever seen any, uh, other animals or anything?"

"There's some wildlife, but I've only caught glimpses. There's something out here that looks kind of like dogs or something. They don't come around much." Loren smiled shyly and blushed.

Sam stood and took her MRE packages to the bin they had designated for trash. Jack had already started to ceremoniously making up his cot up. _Guess he's ready to turn in_. "Sir, I think I'll go check on Daniel."

"Good luck." Jack rolled his eyes.

Loren starting inching his way out of the room. "I'm just gonna...uh...you know, go to my room."

Sam smiled and waved at him. "Good night, Loren."

Loren dipped his head, gave her a shy smile, and disappeared.

***

Sam wandered through the empty corridors, knowing Daniel was in one of these rooms. She knew she’d find him eventually, but the search was fascinating. Each room was like a private cell. The walls were ornate, the columns and architectural features were overblown and garish. They all had what looked like a sunken bath. The place reminded her of the old movie images of Roman palaces, decadent and ostentatious. 

She found Daniel about halfway down the hall in a large room that looked like it had been a gathering place. There were built-in tables along some of the walls, benches for seating and that same gold writing covering most of the wall surface. Daniel was sitting on a bench, hunched over his notebook, writing feverishly. He didn't hear her approach so she cleared her throat. "Daniel?"

Daniel looked up, startled. "Oh. Hi Sam. I didn't hear you." He used the fingers of his pencil hand to push his glasses up his nose from where they had slipped down.

Sam climbed up on the oversized bench with him, her feet dangling above the floor. "Find anything interesting?"

"It's all interesting. This was some kind of resort. Most of the writings I've seen so far are mottoes and edicts. I've even found some rules. You know, 'no spitting on the floor'. That kind of thing."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Yeah." Daniel looked over at her and smiled.

Sam sighed. "Daniel."

"Yeah?"

"You're going to be here for three weeks. Why don't you pace yourself? Come back to the gate room with me and get some rest."

"I'm not tired..."

Sam interrupted. "I think you are and you just don't want to admit it." She paused to collect her thoughts. "Daniel, Colonel O'Neill told me what happened back on Earth. I know it scared the be-jeebers out of him." 

"What did he tell you?" he asked curiously.

"Don't you remember any of it?"

Daniel took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Just bits and pieces."

"Like what?"

Daniel rubbed his face and laid back on the bench they were sitting on, with his legs dangling over the side. "I remember yelling at General Hammond, and then I stormed off. I don't remember how I got home, but I remember being there alone, and having this overwhelming panicky feeling. I remember standing on the ledge and not remembering how I got there. I remember Jack grabbing me and pulling me back over. Then I don't remember anything else until I was here."

"He took you back to the base. He said you fell asleep in the car, and when you woke up, you were incoherent, fighting. When they got you into the infirmary, they sedated you. A little while later you fell into a coma. By that time, all of SG5 had died, and they were afraid you would too. Your vital signs kept dropping until finally they decided they had to get you back here to save you. Before they could get you through the gate, your heart stopped and you weren't breathing."

Daniel lifted his head and stared at her. "He said that?"

"Yup. Colonel O'Neill picked you up and carried you through. As soon as he got you here, you started breathing again and you woke up a little while later."

Daniel closed his eyes and laid his head back down on the hard, marble bench. "I didn't realize..."

"He was pretty freaked, Daniel. " Sam decided not to hold anything back. "I don't think you realize what you mean to him, Daniel. To all of us."

Daniel had tears in the corners of his eyes, just about to spill down into his ears. "I'm sorry, Sam. I'm sorry I put him through that."

"It wasn't your fault, Daniel. I didn't tell you that to make you feel guilty. I wanted you to know that the colonel is worried about you. So am I."

"I'm fine now, Sam. I feel fine." 

"Yeah, but you need to take care of yourself." Sam hopped down from the bench. "First off, you're going to eat three meals a day, you're going to work no more than six hours a day, and you're going to play. Dammit, Daniel, we've been handed a vacation here. An enforced one, I'll admit, but a vacation nonetheless, and I'm not going to let you spend it with your nose in your translations. Not eating and not sleeping."

Daniel sat up and put his glasses back on. "Okay, Mom." He hopped down from the bench and hugged Sam fiercely, and she hugged him back.

"I'm glad you're back."

"Me, too."

***

When Daniel and Sam returned to the gate room, Jack was already asleep. The room was dark, but the snoring gave him away. They had placed their cots around the room, in opposite corners, but still close enough for safety. 

Sam had discovered earlier that there were light dimmers on the walls. They looked like green crystals that, when touched, made the lights go up or down. Sam turned one up slightly so she could see her way to her bunk. One thing she really wanted to investigate was the source of power for this place. There seemed to be an unlimited supply, even though the Goa'uld had been gone for a few hundred years.

Sam made her way over to her cot and saw Daniel doing the same. Once he was in, she reached for the dimmer over her head and turned out the lights.

***

Sam woke up with a start. She heard sounds, moaning. 'Daniel!' She blindly slapped the dimmer switch and turned up the lights. Across the room, Daniel was in his bunk, thrashing, arms flailing, the olive drab blanket was tangled up around his feet. 

Sam was out of her cot in an instant, running across the cold marble floor in her bare feet. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Colonel O'Neill already on his feet. She reached Daniel first. Sitting on the side of his cot, she took hold of his shoulders and shook him. "Daniel! Wake up! You're dreaming!"

One of Daniel's hands caught her across the chest. She flinched, grabbed his hand and pinned it to his chest. With her other hand, she stroked his face, trying to ease him awake. She could feel the colonel standing behind her. He moved around her and squatted at the head of Daniel's bed, placing both hands on either side of Daniel's head to still him. "C'mon, buddy. Time to wake up."

Daniel's eyes opened suddenly, and he bolted to a sitting position. Sam reached around him and began rubbing his back. "Shhh, it's okay, Daniel. You were just having a dream." Daniel stared ahead, breathing heavily. Gradually, his breathing slowed and he relaxed into Sam's embrace.

Jack moved around to the other side of the cot and sat down. "You okay, Danny? Must've been a helluva dream."

Daniel's eyes were drooping. He was already going back to sleep. "I'm okay. I'm sorry I woke you, guys." He remained sitting, Sam holding him snugly. He made no effort to pull away. She looked over at Colonel O'Neill. The terror in Daniel's face had alarmed her, and the colonel had seen it too. After a moment, Daniel's hands dropped to either side of her, and she could feel the full weight of his head on her shoulder. His breathing was deep and regular.

Jack shifted and placed an arm behind Daniel's back. "He's asleep," he whispered. Sam eased Daniel off her shoulder, and Jack supported his shoulders and head until he was lying down again. Sam tugged the tangled blanket away from Daniel's bare feet and pulled it over him. Satisfied that Daniel was truly asleep, Sam and Jack left him to his dreams. 

"What the hell was that all about?" 

Sam glared at the colonel. She was sure he hadn't meant to sound callous.

"I don't know, sir. He's been through a lot lately. Maybe his subconscious is still holding onto it."

"I'm the one who should be having nightmares. He slept through most of it." The softness in Jack's tone took some of the edge off his words. "Let's get some sleep Major."

"Yes, sir." Sam looked back over at Daniel, then headed for her own cot.

***

When Sam woke up the next morning, natural light was streaming through the open grate windows set high in the walls. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. The colonel's bed was empty; Daniel was still in his. She got up and padded over to Daniel. He was lying on his back, one arm flung over his head, the other half hidden under his pillow. He was still sleeping heavily, his brow furrowed as if in deep thought. Sam smiled and lightly touched his face, wondering what was on his mind. He didn't stir. She got up, ran a hand through her short blonde hair, and prepared to start Day Two. She was already thinking of this as a sentence. Something to be endured, the days counted, until it was over.

After washing up and putting on fresh clothes, Sam set off in search of the colonel. She found him outside the building, sitting in the sunshine. He shielded his eyes and gestured for her to come over, "Pull up a rock, Major."

"How long have you been up, sir?"

"Long enough to watch the sunrise. Is Daniel up yet?"

"No, sir. Still dead to the world."

Jack smiled. "He needs the sleep."

"Yes, sir."

Jack took a deep breath and turned to Sam. "Major, why don't we dispense with the 'sir' while we're here? We're officially off duty, on stand down. Let's make the most of it and enjoy ourselves." 

"Yes, sir...uh, I mean, okay..."Sam sighed in frustration. "It's going to be hard, sir. It's too much of a habit."

"Well, try, Sam."

"Okay," she said deliberately, and was rewarded with a smile from the colonel.

"So, what's on the agenda for today? Any plans?"

"I was going to check out the power source for this place, if I can find it. Don't you think it's interesting that there's still power here after hundreds..."

"No," he said, cutting her off. "No, I don't, Major. How's this for an alternate plan? We all go exploring, maybe do some fishing, maybe even go swimming in that ocean we found. We could take some food, build a fire on the beach..."  
"Sounds good, s..., uh, sounds good. That would be good for Daniel, too. But, what about the gate?"

"Let the gate get its own picnic."

"No, sir, I..."

Jack cut her off again, raising his finger. "Aack!"

"Sorry." She cleared her throat and continued. "I just meant that I'm not sure we should leave the gate unguarded."

"Sam, the gate, hell, this whole place has been abandoned for several hundred years. The chances of a Goa'uld suddenly deciding to show up in the next three weeks is pretty slim, and them deciding to show up in the couple of hours that we would be gone are even more slim."

"I guess you're right. But we can't stay out of the palace for very long- an hour tops for the first few days. Remember what happened last time? It's going to take awhile to build up our tolerance for being away from the light."

"Yeah, okay," Jack said with resignation. "Well, it was a nice thought."

"Doesn't mean we still can't go to the beach. We just can't stay very long."

"Hmmph. What's the point?" Jack viciously threw away the rock he'd been fingering.

"Uh, s..., Jack, how long did you say you'd been out here?"

"Just a couple of...oh." His face fell. He got up, brushed off the back of his pants, and started off towards the palace. "Damn prison..."

"It won't take long." Sam rushed to catch up with him. "We'll be able to stay out longer and longer each day."

Once inside, they returned to the gate room. Daniel was still sleeping, so they quietly gathered some MRE's for breakfast. Loren had appeared from nowhere and was quietly sitting on the steps. Jack went and sat beside him.

"Loren, is there a place around here where we can build a fire? Inside?"

Loren stood up and gestured for him to follow. Without a word, he guided them to a small room off the main gathering room that Daniel had been working in the night before. There was a fireplace with a flue. 

Sam bent to look up the flue. "The flue looks clean. This is great, maybe we can rig up something for cooking."

"Okay, why don't you work on that Carter? I'm going to..."

"Uh, excuse me...Jack. Why me? Why do I have to cook? Are you automatically assuming that I'll cook because I'm a woman?" Sam defiantly placed her hands on her hips. Loren took two steps to his right, effectively hiding himself behind O'Neill.

"Uh...well, Carter, I never really thought..."

"Are you making that an order, colonel? 'Cause if you are, isn't that a bit of a double standard, you wanting me to _not_ call you _sir_ and all..."

"Okaaaaaaay. Looks like ten minutes might be a tad too long for you, Carter."

"What ten minutes?" Sam spat out. Then it hit her. She visibly deflated. "Oh, that ten minutes."

Jack nodded, seeing the recognition dawn on her face. "I suppose maybe you could've just woken up on the wrong side of the cot this morning..."

Sam rubbed a hand through her hair and shook her head. "No, I think you're right. I was outside for too long. I guess the effects are gonna be different for each of us."

"You feelin' better now?"

"Uh, yeah. I'll go get some gear and heat up some MRE's." She turned, shaking her head. Jack and Loren followed silently.

Back in the gate room, a rumpled Daniel was sitting on the side of his cot, head in hands. Sam walked over and stooped down beside him. "Good morning."

"Morning," Daniel muttered.

"Don't you feel well?"

Daniel looked up. "Just have a headache."

"Well, you're blood sugar's probably low. You need to eat." Sam stood and offered her hand. "C'mon, I'll fix you some breakfast and get you something for your head."

Daniel took her hand, using it to pull himself up, then let it drop. "Aren't you Mary Sunshine this morning..."

Jack, standing a few feet away, let out a "hrummph" while he took in the intricate detail on the ceiling, whistling tunelessly.

Sam shot him a withering glance, then broke into a smile. "You should've caught me five minutes ago."

Daniel stood, rubbing his eyes. He reached down beside the bed, retrieved his glasses perched on his boot, and put them on. Seeing Loren, he smiled. "Hi, Loren, how are you?"

Loren smiled broadly, not used to being paid any attention. "I'm great, Daniel. You don't feel good?" he asked, concern edging his voice.

"I'll be fine. I'm just a slow waker-upper." Daniel started off toward the door. "I'll be back in a few. Just gonna...you know." Waving his hand in the vague direction of the outdoors, he disappeared.

Loren's smile faded as he turned to Jack. "Where's he going?"

"You know, Loren...you know how you kinda have to go take care of business when you first get up in the morning?"

Realization lit up Loren's face. He nodded and smiled.

***

After a breakfast of warm MRE stew and Tylenol, Daniel was back at the wall. Jack stood behind him for a moment, then sat down. He silently watched Daniel work for a few minutes. Daniel was absorbed in his journal, comparing the figures on the wall to what he had already translated. He glanced uneasily at his audience a few times. 

"What are you doing, Jack?"

"Watchin' you."

"Why?"

"Nothin' else to do."

Daniel went back to his work, trying to ignore Jack. A few minutes later, he glanced over, and Jack was still there.

"Jack, I can't work with you sitting there staring at me like that."

"Good, you shouldn't be working anyway."

"What else is there to do?"

"You could play chess with me."

"We have chess?"

"Sure."

"Can't I just sit here and do what I want?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Why not, what?"

"Why can't I just sit here and do what I want?"

"Well, if you want to, I won't stop you."

"No, you'll just annoy me to death." 

Jack turned to him and laid a beatific smile on him. Daniel sighed. "Okay Jack, you win. One game of chess. Then you'll leave me alone?"

"Sure, whatever." Jack hoisted himself up from the floor and reached down to pull Daniel up after him.

***

Loren watched in rapt fascination as Daniel beat Jack at chess for the third time in a row. The late afternoon sun was low. The light streaming into the room cast a golden glow on everything it touched. Jack had allowed Daniel a respite for a few hours to work, but them demanded a rematch and hounded him until he gave in. Sam came in and stood watching for a minute. 

"Whatcha been doin', Carter?" Jack asked without looking up.

"I was adjusting the light pedestal. I cranked it down a notch. We'll see how once a day does. If we start acting squirrelly, we may have to take it slower."

Daniel reached over to move his King. "How will we tell? Checkmate." He looked up at Jack and grinned.

Sam bent closer to see Daniel's move, "You know, agitated, depressed, irrational..."

"Yeah." Daniel nodded his head solemnly, and looked at her earnestly. "So, how will we tell?" Sam took a friendly swat at him and went over to the MALP.

"Isn't it about time for the general to check in?" she said over her shoulder.

Jack rose from his perch on an upended storage bin and stretched. "Yup. Any minute now."

As if on cue, the chevrons on the Stargate began to glow accompanied by the metallic spinning of the rings. The great watery whoosh of the event horizon settled to the familiar shimmering pool. "Stargate Command to SG-1. This is Hammond." The general's voice was emitted from the speaker on the MALP, the small camera scanning the room, controlled remotely by the SGC. Jack stepped in front of the camera and bent to peer in. "Hiya, General. What's new?"

"Not much on this end, Colonel. Is everyone there okay?"

Jack scanned the room. "Is everyone here okay?" A series of nods and grunts answered him. "Yes, sir. Everyone here is okay."

"Glad to hear it, Jack. Is there anything you need?"

"Well, sir, a TV and a sofa would be nice."

"Sorry, Colonel." The general sounded truly sorry. "But, we do have a little surprise for you. Now, don't go expecting this every day, but Dr. Fraiser and her staff took up a collection and got you all something. It's coming through now." From the center of the shimmering circle, a plastic storage bin shot out and plopped in the middle of the platform. The bin was secured with bungee cords. Jack and the others ambled forward to claim it; the little camera on the MALP followed them. Sam was the first to reach it. Sitting on the floor, she unhooked the three bungee ropes and opened the bin. 

"It's pizzas, sir!" One at a time, she pulled three large pizza boxes out of the bin.

Daniel stooped to help her sort them out. "This is great, General. Please tell Dr. Fraiser thank you." Under the pizza boxes was another box wrapped in aluminum foil, separated from the pizzas by styrofoam. Sam opened it to reveal a six-pack of Coors. 

Jack thrust his clenched fist in the air. "All right! Tap the Rockies!"

Sam reached into the bottom of the bin. "Wait, there's something else." She pulled out a white envelope with Daniel's name written on it. "This is for you, Daniel." 

He took it and tore it open. Inside were bubble packs of Claritin samples. Daniel could do nothing but laugh, wiping tears from his eyes.

The general's voice crackled from the speaker. "She thought since that place had been abandoned for a few hundred years, it might be a little dusty."

Sam stood and turned toward the MALP. "Sir, please tell Janet that we love it, and thank her very much."

"I will, Major. I just wish she could have been here to see your reactions. She had to go to a school play. Well, is there anything else we can do for you?"

"No, sir, this is more than enough. Thank you."

"Okay, we'll check in the same time tomorrow. Hammond out." The MALP speaker went silent and the Stargate wormhole disengaged.

Sam picked up the pizza boxes, Jack grabbed the beers, and they set up their feast on the floor in the center of the room. Loren sidled over hesitantly. Sam saw him and waved him over. "Come on, Loren. This is for you, too."

"W-what is it?"

"It's pizza. Have you ever had it?" she asked as she took a huge bite.

"No."

"Well, you're in for a treat. Sit down," she replied with her mouth full. 

Daniel pulled off a wedge of pizza and handed it to Loren. Loren took it and sniffed. A wide smile broke out on his face. "Smells a lot better than it looks." He took a bite and chewed slowly, a rapturous grin on his face. Watching him, the others chuckled and ate ravenously.

***

"I can't move," Jack said lying flat on the floor, empty pizza boxes scattered around him, his hand absently rubbing his too-full stomach. Daniel was lying nearby, arm flung over his eyes. Sam sat cross-legged on the floor, sipping the last of her second beer, surveying the wreckage of the recent feeding frenzy.

"I don't think I've ever eaten so much in one sitting in my entire life," Sam said to no one in particular. "How did you like it, Loren?"

Loren, apart from the others, sat on the steps with a satisfied smile on his face. "I like pizza."

"I knew that you would," Jack groaned.

Daniel raised his head slightly and looked around. "This is absolutely ridiculous. We've been here for all of two days, and already we're acting like castaways on a desert island, like we haven't eaten in weeks, and may never eat again."

Sam turned to Daniel and nodded. "You're right. We can't do this. We'll all go back to Earth in three weeks looking like Urgo." Jack laughed out loud. 

"Who's Urgo?" Loren asked.

"An old friend. An old, very large friend," Daniel answered.

"Right about now is when I really miss my TV," Jack mused. He looked up suddenly, glancing around at his companions. "Not that you guys aren't great company..."

"Yeah, Jack, go ahead and squirm." Daniel smiled without opening his eyes.

Loren looked back and forth at his new friends; unsure whether they were playing or angry. "I think I'll go to my room now. Goodnight." Without waiting for a response or looking back, he disappeared through the doorway.

Jack lifted one heavy arm in the air, pointing loosely in the direction Loren had just gone. "That is one unusual kid. Usually they want to hang around and stay up all night."

Sam stared after Loren. "He's so used to being alone. It's probably a big adjustment for him to have company. He just needs time."

Daniel made no attempt to stifle a huge yawn, which did not go unnoticed by the others. "I hope you sleep better tonight, Daniel," Sam said.

Daniel raised his head and looked over at her. "What do you mean?"

Jack turned over on his side and propped his head on his hand. "Don't you remember last night?"

"Remember what?"

Sam glanced over at Jack, who nodded. "You had a bad nightmare last night Daniel. Don't you remember?"

Daniel's face reddened. "Oh...yeah, I remember something vaguely. Did I wake you up?"

"Boy, did you!" Jack blurted out. 

Daniel's face took on a deeper shade of red. "I'm sorry, guys".

Sam shot a glare over at Colonel O'Neill. "It's okay, Daniel. It wasn't your fault. Do you remember what it was about?"

Daniel put his head back down and closed his eyes. "I just remember flashes of images and feelings: standing on the balcony, fear, desperation, a sick, nauseated feeling. My chest hurt like someone was pounding on me."

"Sounds horrible," Sam said sympathetically. "I'm sure it was just all you'd been through the last few days."

"Yeah, Daniel. It's perfectly understandable," Jack agreed.

Daniel raised up on one arm and looked at Jack. "Jack, I know I must have put you through hell. I'm really sorry." 

"It wasn't your fault, Daniel," Jack said forcefully. "You did scare the shit out of me though," he grinned, and Daniel grinned back.

"I guess I have you to thank for my sore ribs."

"Yup, that would be me. If that's all you got after what we did to you, then you're one lucky guy."

"Thanks. I think."

Jack opened his mouth to speak. Daniel quickly raised his hand and stopped him. "No! I don't want to know, Jack. It's probably best to keep the particulars to yourself."

Jack slumped, defeated, back to the floor. "Okay."

Sam watched the exchange and sighed with relief. They were talking; they both had let the other know what they were feeling. This is good, she thought.

***

Sam lay awake that night, listening to the sounds around her. She could hear the steady hum of the light pedestal in the next room, the chirping of some alien insects outside the walls of the palace, the occasional soft snuffling coming from Daniel's direction, and the more than occasional snore coming from Colonel O'Neill.

Her stomach was contributing its own rumble to the mix, and it was that, which kept her awake. The sounds of her teammates were familiar. She felt secure with them. The sounds of the palace were becoming the regular background noise of her days. When something changed, she felt her ears perk up. Daniel's natural breathing had changed, becoming more rapid with a soft, underlying moan. 

Sam got up quickly and made her way in the semi-darkness to his side, determined this time that the dream would not escalate into a full blown nightmare. She sat down on the edge of Daniel's bed and looked down at him. He was on his side, turned toward her, one hand curled under his chin, the other somewhere out of sight. He was twitching, but not thrashing, yet anyway. She could see the movement of his eyes under his closed lids. 

Sam reached over him and laid a hand on his back softly rubbing in circles, whispering to him, not loud enough to wake him, but hopefully loud enough to distract him from the encroaching storm. "Shhhh, Daniel. It's okay. Shhhhhh." 

After a moment, his breathing slowed and the twitching stopped. She sighed and whispered to herself, "Okay. That's one averted, shall we try _not_ to repeat tonight, Daniel?" Sam sat for several minutes to be sure he would stay quiet. Finally, Daniel heaved a deep sigh and turned over on his back. One arm landed across Sam's lap and stayed there. Again, she waited.

After witnessing about ten minutes of peaceful sleep, Sam deemed it safe to go. She gently lifted Daniel's arm and placed it across his chest, stood up, straightened his blanket, and then returned to her own cot to take up her unexpected vigil. _Okay, dammit, Janet, why couldn't you send a little Pepto Bismol along with the pizza and beer?_

***

Day 12

Jack O'Neill was alone in the gateroom, sitting crossed-legged in front of the Stargate. Daniel had gone with Sam to explore the palace grounds. They were finally able to tolerate being out of the immediate vicinity of the light for a more extended period. Jack had been able to tolerate it much earlier than the others and had done all the exploring he wanted to do days ago. He even went skinny dipping in the ocean. Loren had disappeared that morning after breakfast, and hadn't been seen or heard from since.

Jack was bored out of his skull. Yes, he had to admit this time with his team had been good for them all. They had bonded. Loren was becoming a familiar part of the family and was finally comfortable around them. Teal'c had visited for a few hours two days earlier.

The SGC had been keeping Teal'c busy. He was still with SG-11, but had also rotated through a couple of other teams. The last time Jack had spoken with General Hammond, he had politely threatened mutiny if another team hijacked Teal'c while his team was out of commission. Once he was back in action, he expected his Jaffa back, and pronto. It took some persuasion, but the general convinced him that Teal'c was his and no one else's. 

Daniel's nightmares had lessened in frequency and intensity. He had heard Sam get up several times in the night to go sit with Daniel. Hell, he'd done it himself a few times when Sam was so exhausted that she hadn't heard the telltale signs start. Daniel never remembered, never really woke up, so at least he had been spared that.

Daniel was looking pale, but fit. They were all pale from the enforced inside activities. Jack and Daniel had decided to have a beard-growing contest, so they both had a week's worth of whiskers. Somehow it made Daniel look more scholarly. Jack thought it just made himself look like a wino on a bender. So far he was winning though, by a whole eighth of an inch. 

***

Stargate Command

"Incoming traveler, sir!"

General Hammond trotted down the winding steps and strode up behind the technician's console. "Who is it, son?"

"It's SG-1's GDO, sir."

"Open the iris." _What the hell are they doing? They know they can't come back here yet._ Hammond had made it a point to keep daily contact with his primary team. They were on forced stand down on an alien world, and that had to be difficult. He tried to keep their morale up and keep them supplied with everything they requested, within reason. Usually they requested personal items, books, magazines, and journals, all of which he was glad to send when he could. He was due to contact them in about an hour, but here they were, dialing home.

The Stargate roared to life, the open end of the wormhole shooting out, then receding to a pool of silvery blue water. All eyes were on the event horizon. The technicians were poised to receive audio transmissions. Except for the usual computer sounds, the control room was silent.

Then, from the center of the blue pool, a single white projectile sailed into the gate room, dipped almost to the metal ramp, then soared up and over the side railing, coming to rest on an electric junction box that hung on the gray wall near the double doors. The shimmering pool of the event horizon flickered out.

As General Hammond watched the folded paper airplane's flight, only one thought entered his mind: "Good hang-time, Jack!" He looked around at the gaping faces of his staff. His next thought was, _did I say that out loud?_

Okay, so unauthorized and unnecessary activation of the Stargate was strictly prohibited. Somewhere, some Pentagon flunky could calculate exactly, to the penny how much it cost the federal government each time the gate was cranked up. Right now, General Hammond was in a forgiving mood. His best team needed an outlet, and if a paper airplane message was it, so be it. 

Through the glass control room window, the general saw an airman start toward the paper airplane. Hammond leaned over the control panel and spoke into the microphone, "Belay that, Airman. I'll take care of it."

The airman turned, saluted and said, "Yes, sir," and left the gateroom.

George Hammond left the control room and made his way down the stairway to the gateroom to retrieve the airplane. Once obtained, he examined its construction. Definitely the work of Jack O'Neill. One of his better designs. He carefully unfolded it and read the message inside: SEND MORE PAPER.

General Hammond chuckled and refolded the airplane as he made his way back to his office. His team was having a difficult time. No doubt Jack was most affected of all. Dr. Jackson and Dr. Carter were used to long periods of study, working on a pet project, or reading. Jack O'Neill was a whole different animal, and he must be going crazy. 

***

Jack O'Neill felt like he would go crazy if he had to spend one more day in this mausoleum. That's what it felt like. It was cold, every surface was hard, and there was no warmth, no character. The outside wasn't a whole helluva lot better. It had become too cold to swim the last few days. There were no hills to survey the landscape, just scrub brush and sand. Even the sunsets weren't particularly memorable. Why the Goa'uld chose this particular planet to build their little pleasure palace was beyond him. Of course, they also had abandoned it. Maybe the slimy little snakes didn't like the place either. Jack shuddered at the thought of actually having so much as a common thought with the wormy little bastards. _Best not to think about it. Gotta think of something else. Wonder where Sam and Daniel got to?_

***

Daniel and Sam returned from their exploration breathless and sweaty. They had decided to run the last piece. It hadn't been far, but their recent forced inactivity meant they were out of shape. Sam stood, bent at the waist, hands on her knees, breathing hard. Daniel sat on the steps, head in hands, doing the same.

"How'd it go, kids?" Jack asked curiously.

"Just----fine----Jack," Daniel managed between gasps.

"Find anything interesting?"

Sam looked up, nodded and raised her finger in a 'wait a minute' gesture. After a moment, she walked over and joined Daniel on the steps. "I think we may have found the power plant for this place."

"Really? Where?"

"It's actually underneath this structure. We found an entrance about a half mile away and followed a tunnel back in this direction."

"What's it look like?"

Sam and Daniel exchanged looks. Daniel was the first to speak. "Well, it's uh, kinda like those ships we've seen. You know, glowing tubes, lots of crystals. Stuff like that."

Sam was breathing almost normally now, "It's way beyond our technology, sir. I don't even know that it's adaptable for us, but it'll be interesting to study. Can you imagine the applications of an unlimited power source on earth?"

"Yeah, well, anytime we've messed with their technology, it hasn't been pretty. Be careful."

"Yes, sir."

"I thought we weren’t gonna do that 'sir' stuff." Jack smiled.

"Uh, Jack, we found something else too." Daniel reached into his daypack and pulled out a ragged brown book. "I think this was Loren’s father’s journal. I found it near the entrance to the bunker. It was protected from the elements in a hollowed out tree. It was pure luck that I found it."

"Does it say where they came from?"

"I haven’t had time to read much yet. I’m hoping it’ll have Stargate coordinates."  
As though it heard its name mentioned, the Stargate rumbled to life. Jack stood. "Get on it as soon as you can. Let’s not mention it to Loren yet, though."

Sam and Daniel left their perches on the steps and stood back out of the way of the vortex. Sam looked at her watch. "I didn't realize how late it is."

Once the event horizon had stabilized, the speaker on the MALP crackled to life. "SGC to SG-1, come in SG-1"

"We're here, General," Jack sighed heavily. "We're _still_ here."

"There's a box coming through for you in a minute. I hope you haven't eaten yet. We're sending you dinner."

"Thank you, sir."

"Any trouble, Colonel?"

"No, sir. Just the same shit, different day." Jack said under his breath.

"I didn't quite get that, Colonel."

"I just said same ol' same ol', sir."

"I got your message. You'll find what you need in the box."

Jack perked up. Sam and Daniel looked at him curiously. "Thank you, sir."

"I wish there was more I could do, son." The speaker was silent for a moment. "Oh, Dr. Fraiser is sending you a kit. She'd like you to draw blood samples from each other. She said don't do it until tomorrow night just before our usual meeting time, then open the gate and send them through. Since you don't have refrigeration facilities, she wants them drawn just before you send them."

Sam stepped closer to the MALP microphone. "Will do, sir." 

One of the familiar plastic storage bins was hurled from the gate and skittered across the floor. Daniel intercepted it and kept it from sliding down the steps.

"Is there anything else tonight?" The general seemed to be at a loss for words.

Jack thought for a moment, "No, sir. I guess not."

"Alright then. Talk to you all tomorrow. Out." The speaker went silent and a moment later, the wormhole disengaged. 

Daniel reached down and picked up the bin, bringing it down to the main floor. "Do you guys get the feeling like we're back in Hadante?"

Sam looked at him, surprised. "I was just thinking that same thing."

Jack sat in front of the bin and began opening it. "Now come on. You gotta admit, the general's been generous with the food every once in awhile, and even when we have to eat MRE's, they're still better than that trough-slop on Hadante."

Daniel sat cross-legged on the floor on the opposite side of the box, "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just had a flashback."

As soon as the lid was removed, the most glorious aroma rose out of the box. Without even looking under the lids, Jack exclaimed, "Ribs!"

***

SG-1 was almost finished with their dinner when Loren quietly came into the room. Jack turned, a rib in his hand, barbecue sauce on his face, "Where've you been?"

Loren looked at him with alarm, "Jack! You're bleeding."

Jack's hand shot to his mouth and wiped the sauce off. He could hear the muffled snickers of Sam and Daniel. "No, I'm not, Loren. It's barbecue sauce. Come join us. We saved you some ribs."

Loren went over to the group and sat down, looking over the remnants of the meal. Daniel pointed to the various containers and recited the contents. "This is baked beans. Here are the ribs and extra sauce. Over there is garlic bread. This is cole slaw, and for desert..." he held up an unopened styrofoam container, "banana pudding," he said reverently.

Sam fixed Loren a plate and sat back to watch him enjoy it. "So, where have you been all day, Loren?"

Loren shrugged his shoulders. "Just around." He smiled shyly. "I made you guys presents."

Jack raised his eyebrows and leaned forward. "Presents? You mean like, gifts?"

Loren just nodded and continued gnawing on a rib.

"Well, what is it?" Jack asked impatiently.

"I'll show you later." Loren was much too enthralled by the new delicacy.

As they sat in a circle, savoring their banana pudding, Sam eyed the smallish, flat box that remained in the bottom of the bin next to the blood kit. "What is that?"

Jack looked in the bin. "That's for me."

Daniel peered over into the box, too. "So what is it, Jack?"

Jack rolled his eyes and retrieved the box. He set it on his lap and pulled the lid off. Inside, neatly stacked, was a half a ream or more of paper. Not just any paper, either. Memos. Lots and lots of memos. Jack began laughing and passed the box over to Daniel.

"I don't get it. These are old memos." Daniel looked at Jack, puzzled.

"It's the general's idea of a joke," Jack said as he wiped his eyes. He reached into the box and pulled out a memo. He glanced at it briefly, then began folding. Everyone stared with fascination as he folded an intricately designed paper aircraft. 

Loren was inching closer and closer as he strained to see. When he was finished, Jack held his creation up for Loren to see.

"What is it?"

"It's a Harrier."

Daniel eyed the plane with interest. "A what?"

"A Harrier. It's a British-made jet that takes off vertically from a stationary position." Jack cocked his arm back and tossed the airplane gently toward the Stargate. The plane performed a gentle loop, then glided silently through the ring of the gate, coming to rest out of sight somewhere beyond.

Loren's eyes were big as saucers. "Wow!" 

Jack nodded appreciatively. "Yeah."

Over the next two hours, Jack taught Loren all of his secret designs while Sam and Daniel busied themselves with chores. As Jack sat folding his next engineering marvel, he glanced over at Daniel piling trash in the bins. "Ya know, we've accumulated an awful lot of that stuff. I say we form a trash detail tomorrow and take it out somewhere and burn it."

Daniel, never missing a beat, said, "Sounds like a blast."

Jack turned back to Loren who was attempting to master the MIG. "Hey, I just remembered you said you had made us presents. Where are they?"

Loren looked embarrassed. "They're not anything. These are great," he said, smiling at his new creation.

Sam came over and plopped down on the floor next to him. "No, Loren. We really want to know. What were you doing all day?"

He looked up at her and smiled. Getting up from the floor, he handed her his airplane. "Okay, I'll go get them." He left the gateroom, only to return a moment later with three fishing poles, each at least ten feet long. They were all flexible wooden poles and had a homemade reel and handle on one end. Jack rose from his position on the floor, and Daniel came across the room to see. 

"Loren, these are great! How did you do this?" Sam took one of the poles and examined it like a seasoned angler.

Loren just shrugged. Jack took his pole and practiced casting with it. "This is a beauty. I'm going to take it out and use it tomorrow. We all will, Loren. Thank you."

Loren's face was beet red. He handed Daniel his pole and sat back down among his pile of white paper aircraft.

Daniel, not knowing which end of a fishing pole was up, held his and looked at it from end to end. "Thanks, Loren. I guess you can teach me to fish tomorrow."

Jack sat down next to Loren. "Okay, after trash detail, we all go fishing. Right now though, we have some test flights to run."

***

Daniel was laying propped against a rock with his pole in the water, holding it between his feet, while he read the journal. Jack and the others were down the beach fishing. He would occasionally hear a whoop of victory at yet another fish caught. Not wanting Daniel to feel left out, Jack would call to him asking if he’d caught anything yet. Daniel would call back, "Just got another one," without looking up. 

In the late afternoon, a sunburned Jack came over and sat beside Daniel, leaving Sam and Loren still fishing about fifty feet down the beach. Everyone was wearing long sleeves and jackets against the cold, not exactly an ideal beach day, but better than no beach day. "I wish you'd come join us, Daniel. It's a lot of fun."

"I know, Jack, but this is important."

"Find anything interesting?"

Daniel reached up and pushed his glasses back up his nose. "Well, I know his dad’s name was Jude and his mom’s name was Laura. They were naturalists, I think. They'd been to several other worlds before they came here. Anyway, he doesn’t refer to his home world by name, but I did find something that might possibly be a Stargate address. It’s not the symbols we’re familiar with, but in context, I don’t know what else it would be. We just have to figure out Jude’s system. He assigned a value to each symbol, kind of like the names of our constellations. They just have different names for them."

"Is the language familiar?"

"Well, it’s more cultural than language. He spoke and wrote English. It’s just the names are culturally influenced."

Jack nodded his head as if he understood. "Ah. Can you get Loren to help you?"

"I’ll just ask him about his home and what they called different things. I really don’t want to get his hopes up yet. We may not be able to do anything. Even if we find his world and go, there may not be anything or anyone there for him."

"I agree. Let’s keep it quiet for now." Jack stood up and ran his hand through his hair. "See what you can do."

"I will." Daniel went back to studying the book.

As Jack was walking away, he called back over his shoulder, "Catch any fish yet?"

Daniel grunted.

 

***

Day 14

Daniel sat in the dark. Where the light matrix used to be, was now darkness, with only the hum of the mechanism left as testament to its existence. Sam had discovered that it wasn't the light itself that had caused the chemical changes in their bodies, but the machine that produced the light as eye-candy for the user. 

An opium den- that's what this place was. A goddamn opium den for the entertainment of the system lords. The SG teams had stumbled onto it, and four people were dead as a result. Daniel had been the only survivor of the original expedition team, and he had only survived by the sheer determination and last minute efforts of Jack and Dr. Fraiser.

Daniel tried to not think about the others. An entire SG team wiped out in less than twenty four hours. He had been lucky again, as he had so many times before. Somewhere, an overworked Guardian Angel was grooming it's wings for the next time. How many times would there be before his Angel gave up?

The others had gone to bed hours ago, but Daniel couldn't sleep. The nightmares had been less frequent, but he still anticipated them. Sometimes the only way he could sleep was to work himself into exhaustion, then sleep came easily, no time to think. 

"It's okay, Loren, you can come in." Daniel looked toward the open doorway where a black figure was silhouetted against the dim light of the gate room. He'd been aware of him standing there for several minutes.

"I'm not allowed to come in this room." Loren shuffled his feet.

"Loren, the light isn't on and you've been just as exposed as the rest of us. It's okay to come in here now. I give you permission."

Loren thought for a minute. "Okay." He came in and sat down close to Daniel.

Daniel turned to look at Loren's face, not seeing much in the darkness but the shine of his eyes and a glint of white teeth as Loren smiled back at him. "Can't you sleep?"

"No."

"Me neither."

After several minutes of silence, Loren finally said, "I'm glad you came here."

Daniel thought a moment. "Well, I can't say I'm glad for what happened here, but I'm glad we found you."

"I'm sorry about the others."

"It wasn't your fault, Loren. Just like your parents dying wasn't your fault. It happened and you had no control over it."

Again, silence. Daniel could hear Loren sniffling. "Tell me about where you came from, Loren."

Loren wiped his nose on his sleeve and cleared his throat. "We came from a place called Eran. I don't know how many worlds we went to before we came here, but that's where we started from. My mother used to tell me she would be glad to go home again. She had a sister who was about to have a baby."

"A sister? Really?"

"Yeah, her name was Electra Palasia. I remember her from when I was real young. She was pretty and she sat with me for a long time teaching me how to say her name so I wouldn't forget."

"Loren, did your mother or father teach you anything about the Stargate?"

"Sure. Dad was always talking about it. He was a scientist. He loved to explore. He was a professor and during the breaks between classes, we would travel through the gate. Mostly to places that had already been mapped by other people." Daniel could hear Loren swallow hard. "He didn't mean to bring us anywhere that was dangerous."

"I'm sure he didn't. Did he teach you what the symbols on the gate mean?"

"He said they were pictures of the star groups. They each have a name and he would show me the pictures of the symbols, and we would lay out in the grass at night and find them in the sky."

Daniel's heart was racing. This could be the answer. If Loren could remember the names of the symbols, he could use Jude's journal to find the combination to send Loren back home. "Do you think you could teach me the names of the symbols?"

"Don't you already know them?" 

"Well, our people call them one thing, but I'm sure your people call them other things. I'm a linguist. Stuff like that interests me."

"I thought you were an archeologist."

"I'm that too." Daniel smiled at Loren.

"You remind me of my Dad. He wanted to know everything. He was interested in everything and he was always reading."

Daniel smiled inwardly. "I bet you miss him a lot."

Loren nodded. After several minutes he turned to Daniel, "Where are your parents, Daniel?"

"Uh, well...they died a long time ago...in an accident."

"I'm sorry. Were you little?"

"I was eight."

Loren thought about this for a few minutes. "Did you live alone like me after they died?"

Daniel smiled. "No, I moved in with some other people and they took care of me."

"Oh." Loren assimilated this information. "There was no one here."

"I know."

They sat in silence for quite awhile. Daniel was beginning to get sleepy and yawned. "I think I'm going to go back to bed now, Loren. You should try to get some sleep too." He stood up and flexed his legs. "My butt fell asleep."

Loren laughed heartily.

"Loren, tomorrow I want you to do something for me, okay?"

"Okay, Daniel."

"I'm going to give you some paper and a pencil and I want you to write down as many of the names of the symbols on the gate as you can remember. Will you do that for me?"

Loren stood up, his eyes shining. "Sure, Daniel."

"Great. Goodnight, Loren. See you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Daniel." Loren watched as Daniel limped off to bed.

***

Day 16

"Ack! No! Get off my…" Jack pushed Daniel with his hip, knocking him off balance. Daniel had to do windmills with his arms to stay on his feet. Jack slid the puck forward with his stick and performed an expert slap shot towards Sam. Sam lunged to her right, falling on her side, and missed it by inches.

"Damn!" she said, getting up gingerly.

"And the crowd goes wild!…Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" Jack had his stick raised in the air, turning in circles acknowledging the imaginary crowd. Loren clapped his hands from his position at the other goal.

Daniel came up beside him, ducking from the flailing stick. "Is that legal? Somehow I don’t think that should be legal." He turned towards Sam. "Sam, is that legal?"

"You're asking me?" She was rubbing the soreness out of her right hip.

Jack lowered his arms and stared at Daniel. "Is _what_ legal? Body contact in hockey? Where have you been, Daniel? On another planet? Oh, wait…" He smiled and reached out to ruffle Daniel’s hair.

Sam joined the two men. "Okay, re-match. This time you and Daniel get to be the goalies."

Loren smiled and nodded agreement. Using storage bins as goals and columns as boundaries, Daniel and Jack took up their positions in their respective goals. 

Jack bent at the waist and knees, stick in front of him gripped in both hands. Daniel copied his position across the room. "Okay, Loren, let’s beat the crap out of these guys. Remember, loser has to haul trash." 

"Okay, Jack." Loren high-fived his teammate and approached his opponent. Loren and Sam met in the center for the face-off. Jack whistled the start. Loren and Sam grappled, sticks clicking, the puck buffeting from one to the other. Finally, Loren got the upper hand and broke loose. Keeping the puck in front of him, he headed for Daniel’s goal with Sam in hot pursuit. She could hear Jack in the background. "C’mon, Loren. Get it in there!"

Sam overtook Loren, moving in front and slapping the puck away from him. Running it back towards her goal, she could hear Daniel encouraging her on. Feeling Loren at her side, she slapped the puck hard to give her a chance to break free. Keeping Loren at bay with her backside, she slapped the puck again toward Colonel O’Neill. Jack was prepared, moving nimbly on the balls of his feet. He hopped back and forth, trying to anticipate the direction of the puck. Finally, Jack lunged. He caught the puck with the edge of his stick and knocked it back out onto center ice.

Loren was able to pick it up and send it towards Daniel. Daniel tried to imitate Jack’s strategy, bouncing back and forth, watching the puck’s trajectory. As Sam closed in, Loren took a mighty swing and slammed the puck toward Daniel. Daniel caught it directly in front of him with his stick. The puck ricocheted off the stick and flew up, catching Daniel on his right cheek.

It happened so fast, all Daniel saw was the ceiling as his head flew back and he landed on his back on the floor. He had passed out for a few seconds, because the next thing he knew, Sam was bending over him tapping him on the other cheek with her hand. 

"Daniel, are you alright? Wake up!"

Daniel grabbed her hand to stop the tapping. "I’m okay, Sam. Stop it." 

"You’re gonna have a nice shiner there, buddy." Jack’s hand was on his shoulder. "You feel like sitting up?"

Daniel nodded, reaching for his cheek. Jack reached behind Daniel's shoulders and pulled him up. Daniel looked up to see Loren standing a few feet away, arms crossed over his chest, tears rolling down his cheeks. Daniel waved him over with his hand. "Come here, Loren."

Jack turned around and saw Loren inching forward. He stood up and put his arm around Loren’s shoulder. "He’s not hurt bad, Loren. Just a little puck on the cheek....peck on the cheek....whatever." 

Loren stooped down beside Daniel and reached a tentative hand out to Daniel’s face, then pulled it back. "I’m fine, Loren, and it wasn’t your fault. Here. Help me up."

Daniel reached an arm out to Loren who took it, and with Jack’s help, hauled Daniel to his feet. Daniel swayed for a moment, holding on to Loren to steady him. "There, not too bad." Daniel was content to stand still for a minute. Loren held on to him, arm around his waist, Jack on the other side.

"Okay, I’m okay." Daniel started walking shakily over toward his cot.

"You need to sit down, Daniel. I wanna look at that, it broke the skin and it’s bleeding a bit." Sam walked ahead to get the first aid kit.

Loren and Jack deposited Daniel on his cot, and Loren sat down beside him. Sam came and sat on the other side. As she cleaned the wound, Daniel stoically held still. "I think we should just leave it open to air. It’ll heal by itself," Sam said. Sam cautiously felt around the back of Daniel's head. She found a lump where his head had contacted the hard floor when he fell. Frowning, she packed up the kit and took it back to the bin.

Loren stood up as well. "I’m sorry I hit you, Daniel. I didn’t mean to."

"You didn’t hit me, Loren. It was a ricochet. Not your fault."

"A good time turns ugly," Jack said with a smirk.

"Jack!" Daniel glared at Jack then nodded significantly toward Loren.

"I’m just kidding. Loren, you did real good. We were about to win that sucker."

Daniel’s head jerked up, looking Jack directly in the eye. "Were not!"

"Were so."

"Were not."

"So."

"Not."

"Alright!" Jack held up his hands. "Loren, if it’ll make you feel any better, you and I will haul the trash as a penalty for beating up our opponent, ‘kay?"

Loren seemed happy with that. His head bobbed up and down.

"Okay."

***

Daniel went to bed early that night. He assured Sam that he just had a slight headache. She couldn’t help but worry. He had only eaten a few bites of dinner and was unusually quiet. She considered it her job to worry about Daniel. It had become habitual. 

He was sleeping so soundly that he never stirred when Sam came to him three separate times during the night to check him. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but she was afraid of a concussion. Once she sat on the bed and lifted one of Daniel’s eyelids and watched his pupil constrict slightly in the low light. Looked normal. She just thought it was odd that he slept so hard. Probably just exhaustion. Then she decided she had to know. She stood up and stepped away to avoid flailing hands. Then Sam reached over and flicked Daniel’s ear. He groaned, slapped at her hand, and turned over on his side. _Okay, that was a good sign,_ she decided.

The fourth time Sam rose from her bed in the wee hours, she heard a voice come out of the darkness. "For cryin’ out loud Carter. Leave him alone. He’s fine." She silently slipped back into her bed and under the covers.

Less than an hour later she heard Colonel O’Neill get up and creep over to Daniel’s cot. She smiled, turned over on her side and went back to sleep.

***

The next day, Daniel slept until almost midday. Sam was hovering, trying to stay busy, but anxiously watching at the same time. She was cleaning her sidearm when she heard Daniel stirring around. Jack, from the opposite side of the room, was already heading towards Daniel.

Daniel rubbed his hand through his hair, wincing as he touched the sore spot on the back of his head. Yawning and rubbing his eyes, he sat up and swung his feet over the side of his bed. Coming into contact with the cold hard floor made him wince again. 

Jack stooped to pick up Daniel's glasses from the floor. Handing them to him, he said, "Good afternoon."

Daniel took his glasses and put them on, blinking owlishly. "Thank you. Is it really afternoon?"

Sam stooped beside the cot and laid a hand on Daniel's knee. "Yup. You've been sleeping for almost fifteen hours."

"Really? Wow. I musta been more tired than I thought."

Jack cleared his throat. "No, Daniel. I think you had a concussion. Probably just a little one, though. How's the head?"

"Not bad. Just a little sore," he said, feeling the lump again.

Sam stood up. "Loren's been worried sick. He kept coming in here and looking at you. Then he would just disappear for awhile, then come back again. Hasn't said a word all morning."

"I'll go talk to him." Daniel bent and pushed himself off the cot, straightening up slowly.

"Geez, Daniel, you look like a ninety year old man," Sam said kindly.

"Just a little stiff, I'll be fine." He limped off toward the door.

Jack grinned and called after him, "I'm going for a run in a few minutes. I'll wait for you if you want."

Without turning around, Daniel called back, "Thanks anyway, Jack, I think I'll sit this one out." He absently waived a hand and disappeared out the door.

***

Jack came in from his run to find Daniel sitting on the floor in front of the Stargate scribbling in his notebook. He approached from behind and cleared his throat. Daniel jumped and his pencil flew out of his hand. "Dammit, Jack! Don't _do_ that!"

"Don't do what? I just walked in. I can't help it if you're deaf, dumb and blind when you get interested in something." He retrieved Daniel's pencil and handed it back to him. "Whatch ya doin'?" Jack rubbed the sweat from his face and hair with a towel.

"I'm translating the symbols on the gate from Jude's journal. I think I may have it. Almost anyway. Loren wrote the names that he could remember for me. Oh, and Jack, he has family. He told me about an aunt that he remembers. He said her name is Electra Palasia. He remembers it because he said it took him a long time to learn how to say it."

Jack smiled. "That's great, Daniel. Good work. When we contact the base tonight, we'll get a message to General Hammond to try out the address and see if he can locate her."

"How're you gonna get a message through without Loren hearing? He's always right there."

"You just leave that to me. Try to finish that before gate time, okay?" Jack walked away scrubbing his hair with the towel.

***

After dinner, Jack sat with Loren, idly folding paper airplanes, chatting about fishing and hockey. Loren's demeanor had changed so dramatically over the last few weeks, that he was barely recognizable from the withdrawn, shy, flustered boy they had first met.

Sam was drawing blood once again from everyone using the kit that Dr. Fraiser sent. Daniel had drawn hers earlier, then wandered off to work on his wall. Once she was finished, she walked over to Colonel O'Neill and Loren. "Sir, I've finished with the blood samples. We can dial up the gate now."

In his best British accent, Jack said, "Make it so, Number One," then turned and grinned at Loren. 

As the Stargate whooshed to life, Jack rose from the floor and walked over toward the MALP. "SG1 to base. Anyone home?"

"Hammond here, Jack. How is everybody?"

"We're all just fine here, sir. How are the Black Hawks doing?"

"Four nothing in the first period last I heard."

"Excellent."

"Sir, we're sending through blood samples," Sam said. As she approached the gate, Jack intercepted her.

"Here Carter. Let me do it this time." She gave him a puzzled look, but handed him the box and stepped aside. Jack moved closer to the gate, tossed the box through, and immediately followed it with one of his paper airplanes.

"Anything new to report, Colonel?"

"Well, sir, Daniel had a little mishap with a hockey puck yesterday."

Instead of the general, it was Dr. Fraiser's voice. "Is he alright?"  
"Oh, hi Doc. He's okay now. Got a nice shiner and a bump on the head. He slept for the better part of a day, but he's fine now."

"Okay, Colonel. Contact us immediately if anything develops."

"Oh, we will," he assured her. "SG 1 out."

*** 

Day 20

"Your labs are looking much better, I think you should be able to return home within a couple of days. I’d like to see the dopamine levels completely normal. I don’t want to take any chances." Janet tried an encouraging smile. She knew SG-1 couldn’t actually see her, but thought it might show up in her voice.

"A couple of days? It’ll be three weeks tomorrow! Can’t we just call it quits?" Jack tried not to sound whiny.

"I really don’t think it’s worth taking any chances at all, Colonel. We’ll get blood samples again day after tomorrow. If those are normal, and I expect they will be, then we’ll bring you home." Janet was anxious to change the subject. "Is Daniel there?"

"Here, Janet."

"How’s your cheek?"

"It’s fine. Just a little sore."

Sam spoke up. "It’s still a little pink, but the cut is healing nicely."

"How are the headaches?", Janet asked.

"I haven’t had any."

"Good."

General Hammond’s voice was next from the speaker, "Colonel, I sent SG-11 to check on what you requested and had positive results. The party is willing and very anxious."

"That’s great, General. We’ll take care of it as soon as we can get out of here."

"Affirmative. SGC out."

Loren looked at Jack puzzled. "What was that about, Jack?"

Jack put an arm around his shoulder. "Loren, you're going home."

"I know. I'm going with you guys." He smiled eagerly.

"Well, instead of that, what about if we take you back to your own home? Remember your Aunt Electra? She's waiting for you."

Loren's face amazingly registered joy and disappointment at the same time. "But, I-I..." Tears formed in his eyes. "I thought I was going with you."

"Well, you will, Loren. We'll take you back to our planet so you can meet everybody, look around a little. Then we'll take you to see your family. I'm sure they can't wait to see you. They've probably thought you were dead all this time." Seeing Loren's distress, he added, "Don't you like your aunt?"

"Oh-oh yeah. She's great. It's just a surprise. I didn't think you'd ever find my planet. I'd made up my mind I was going to live on Earth."

Jack looked over at Daniel for a little help. Daniel came and put an arm around Loren's shoulder.

"Loren, we found your father's notes, and I was able to figure out the Stargate coordinates to your planet. It was a surprise to us, too. But it's a good surprise, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Loren mustered a smile.

Jack clapped his hands together. "Good! Now, how 'bout a little game of chess? Let's see how much you've learned."

***

Day 22

About midday, Dr. Fraiser gave SG-1 and guest the all-clear to come home. Loren had disappeared earlier to gather his meager belongings. He was as excited as a kid on his birthday. 

Daniel and Sam packed up the bins while Jack was busy folding the cots. He was hoping to have everything that was going back ready within the hour. The general had sent three unsolicited items through the gate earlier that morning. One was a small trailer that would hitch to the back of the MALP, to be used for transporting their gear. The others were two shaving kits. 

Daniel and Jack had made use of the latter, and Daniel continued piling their gear into the former. They would still have to carry some things through, but most of it would go on the trailer. 

Sam tucked journals and magazines into a duffel bag, "It's amazing to me how much stuff we managed to accumulate in just three weeks. I feel like I'm cleaning out a rental at the beach."

"If the guys back home hadn't taken such pity on us, we'd just be burning trash and going home." Daniel was trying to fit the fishing poles and the hockey sticks into the trailer. "Of course, we wouldn't have had as much fun either."

Sam stopped what she was doing and looked at her teammates. "It was kind of fun, wasn't it?" 

The three stared at each other for a moment. Then all three smiled and returned to their work.

***

All of the supplies were stowed and ready to go. Jack surveyed the gate room. All appeared as it had when they arrived except for the piled supplies ready to go through the Stargate. 

Loren had still not joined them. Jack turned to his team. "Carter, can you disable that light permanently? I don't want anyone else coming here and accidentally turning it on again."

"Yes, sir, it should be easy. As much as I hate to suggest it, I would recommend destroying the power plant as well."

Jack thought about it for a moment. "I agree. I'll arrange for the ordinance with the general when we get back. Maybe you and Teal'c can come back and finish it off later."

"Yes, sir."

"You go ahead and work on the light; I'm going to go find Loren." As Jack turned to leave, Daniel fell in step beside him.

"I'll go with you. I think I know where he might be."

***

They found Loren down by the beach where they had reburied his parents several weeks before. He was sitting beside the graves, gazing out over the water. When he saw Jack and Daniel approach, he wiped the tears from his face and smiled.

"You doin' okay, Loren?" Daniel sat down beside him. Jack stooped in front of him.

"I'm doing okay, Daniel. I just came to say good-bye."

Jack swallowed the lump in his throat. "I know it's hard, Loren, but you know they'd want you to go on and have a good life."

"Yeah, I know." They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"You know, Loren," Daniel said, "from reading your father's journal, I could tell he was a very smart, well-educated man. I'm sure he'd want you to go to school, become educated, maybe do the things he wasn't able to."

Jack laid a hand on Loren's shoulder. "I know they'd both be very proud of the way you've managed on your own all this time. You've been very resourceful. Now it's time to move on and do something with your life. Okay?"

Loren smiled through his tears at both of his friends. "Okay, I'm ready." He stood up and began walking at a brisk pace back toward the palace, never looking back. Jack and Daniel were left to stare after him. They looked at each other, then took off down the beach to catch up to their friend.

*** 

SGC Three days later

General Hammond surveyed his briefing with a practiced eye. SG-1 had been back for three days. All had received clean bills of health from Dr. Fraiser and were anxious to get back to work. Their first mission would be to take young Loren back to his home world and establish relations with the governing body there. 

The General turned to Loren. "So, young man. Are you ready to go home now?"

"Yes, sir, I guess so." He smiled. On his face was a mixture of excitement and fear. 

The general turned to address the rest of the team. "SG-11 reports that the governing body of Eran is called the Council of Eight. They are friendly and open to visitors. They seem to be on an equal technological level as ourselves. The gate is located in the main government complex, and you will be greeted by the Council and Loren's family which is apparently quite prominent." He smiled at Loren and continued. "It seems their society allows scientific exploration by civilians and does not restrict outgoing gate travel to anyone with credentials. Sounds very interesting, people."

Daniel was fascinated. For once, an open society with no religious or cultural hang ups about the gate. "Yes, sir, it sure does."

The general turned to the rest of his team. "Okay, people. You have a go. You're scheduled to leave at thirteen hundred. Dismissed."

***

SG-1 stepped from the event horizon onto Eran, Loren in tow. The Stargate was indeed in the middle of a very modern complex of buildings. Overhead was a glass ceiling allowing in natural sunlight and showing a cloudless blue sky. The Stargate wormhole flickered out behind them as the team hesitated at the top of the steps that lead down from the dais. 

Looking below, they could see a welcoming committee of officials. Off to one side stood a small family. A young woman with long brown hair and a kind face, holding an infant in her arms. A young, nice looking man stood at her side with his arm around her, and holding another child by the hand. The second child appeared to be about six years old.

Loren looked up at Jack, wordlessly asking permission. Jack nodded, and Loren trotted down the steps and straight to his aunt. The family gathered around him and Loren disappeared in their circle for a few moments. 

Jack, Daniel, Teal'c and Sam made their way down the steps to the waiting officials. An older, white-haired man stepped forward to greet them. 

"Welcome to Eran. I am Councilor Aja."

Jack shook his hand and introduced his team. "I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill, this is Major Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and you've already met Teal'c."

Teal'c bowed his head in his customary show of respect. The Councilor nodded and shook each hand in turn. He then turned and introduced his colleagues, the members of the Council of Eight.

"We are eternally grateful to you and your General Hammond for returning Loren to us. When my son left six years ago, we had not..."

Daniel held up his hand. "Uh, excuse me, sir. Did you say 'your son'?"

Councilor Aja turned and nodded to Daniel. "Yes, Dr. Jackson. Loren's father was my son."

"Then Loren is your..."

"My grandson, yes." The Councilor’s smile was genuine, his blue eyes twinkled.

Jack came to stand beside Daniel. "He never mentioned that his grandfather..."

The Councilor interrupted, "He never knew, Colonel. His father and I were not on speaking terms at that time. I'm sure Loren was too young to remember me, as I had not seen him since he was a baby. I assure you, I intend to make up for all of that lost time."

A flicker of hesitation darted across Daniel's face. "Uh, Jack can we speak privately for a minute?"

Jack looked at Daniel, noting the seriousness of his expression. He turned to the Councilor. "Excuse me."

Smiling and clutching his hands together, the Councilor nodded. SG-1 stepped several yards away.

They stood close and Jack spoke in low tones. "What's going on, Daniel?"

Daniel took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts. "Jack, we should leave... now." Daniel's eyes darted from the Councilor to Loren, to Jack.

Jack started to open his mouth to speak.

Daniel raised a hand to silence him and continued. "I know we were supposed to establish relations with this government, but the head of the government is Loren's grandfather," Daniel spoke clearly, making his point. "They need some time. We should back off and give them time to get acquainted and work things out. Loren needs him right now; a whole lot more than they need us. Believe me, I know." Daniel's eyes held Jack's with an unwavering stare.

The communication between the two men was wordless. Jack did not need to be reminded of Daniel's own grandfather. How that relationship, had it been different, would have changed Daniel's life.

Daniel surveyed the faces of his friends. 

Sam nodded. "Sir, I have to agree with Daniel. This isn't the time. We can come back in a month or so."

Jack thought for a minute, he nodded his head, turned and strode back over to the Councilor. "Sir, it has been an honor to meet you. We will take our leave now, give you a chance to get to know your grandson, give him a chance to know you. Then perhaps in a month or so, we can return, with your permission."

The Councilor, puzzled at the sudden change in plans, looked to his colleagues. They all nodded silent agreement. The Councilor turned back to Jack. "That is most kind of you, Colonel O'Neill. I accept your offer."

A moment later, as they were shaking hands, Loren appeared beside Daniel. "Daniel, come and meet my family." He took Daniel's hand and began pulling him over to where his family still stood.

"Okay, we all will," Daniel said as he was pulled along. The rest of SG-1 followed. Loren introduced them all to his aunt, uncle and cousins, proudly announcing that the new baby had been named Loren, after him.

"Well, that's going to be a bit confusing at dinnertime," Jack said with a grin.

Daniel looked over Loren's head at Jack, their eyes met, and Jack nodded assent to the unasked question. 

Daniel put his arm around Loren's shoulder and pulled him away. "Uh, Loren, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"What's wrong, Daniel?" They stepped away a few paces.

"Nothing's wrong. Nothing at all. It's just that, uh, something has come up and we're going to have to go now."

"But you said..."

"I know, we were going to stay for awhile..." Tears were welling in Loren's eyes and he dropped his head. "...and we still will, I promise," Daniel added hastily, "but we're going to have to come back later." Daniel laid a hand on Loren's shoulder. "Loren, you've got a lot of settling in to do. Why don't you concentrate on that? We'll be back to visit you before you know it." He dipped his head to capture Loren's eyes. "Okay?"

Loren looked up into Daniel's eyes, tears were streaming down his face. "Okay." He was barely able to speak.

Daniel placed his arm around Loren's shoulders and guided him back to where the others were standing. He noticed Sam's eyes were brimming with unshed tears, and Jack was swallowing a lot.

Jack reached out and touched Loren's shoulder. "Come on, Loren, come see us off at the gate." They all said their good-byes to Loren's family and walked slowly back to the Stargate. A technician had already begun dialing.

As the wormhole roared to life, Loren turned suddenly to Daniel and hugged him tightly around the waist. Daniel wrapped his arms around the boy and squeezed, his cheek resting on top of the boys head. Daniel's resolve to not cry crumbled, and tears began making their way down his face. After a long moment, Loren released Daniel and turned to Sam. Another fierce hug, and then to Jack. 

Jack held Loren at arms length for a moment, studying his face. Then, without a word, pulled him into a tight bear hug.

"We're gonna miss you, kid." After a moment, Jack patted Loren's head and released him. 

Loren turned from Jack and strode up to Teal'c. "I hope you have a nice birthday, Teal'c and that you'll remember me when you play with your gun."

"I will indeed remember you, Loren. Thank you." 

Loren started to turn away, then changed his mind and gave the very surprised Jaffa a quick hug. Without looking back, he returned to stand with his family. Only then did he turn around to watch his friends leave.

Jack, Sam and Teal'c ascended the steps to the Stargate, Daniel followed slowly behind. They hesitated at the top and turned to wave to Loren, who was already waving at them. Daniel felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Jack with tears in his eyes too.

"We'll be back soon, Daniel." He patted Daniel's shoulder. "C'mon, let's go." They turned and, as one, they stepped into the event horizon, leaving their friends looking after them. Loren was still waving after they had already set foot back home.

**The End**

  


* * *

  


> Huge thanks to my beta's Steph and Jenni. This was beta'd to death and I'm a better writer for it. :) A tip of the paper hat to Steph's "Carpe Memorandum" which should be required reading. My e-mail is new, so it's different from what is on my other stories. Thank you to all who have sent feedback.

* * *

>   
> © June 29, 2001 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp.  
> The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters  
> who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names,   
> titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television,   
> Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd.   
> Partnership.  
> This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and   
> solely meant for entertainment.   
> All other characters, the story idea and the story itself   
> are the sole property of the author.   
> 

* * *

  



End file.
